Almost home....

Okay, I was lame and did not know that we had free internet access! I just found it today and now I have a lot to say but little time.

All in all we have had a great trip.....my grandma has enjoyed herself and we have been able to soak up some relative time and decent weather. No one had a fight (at least no one in my family did) and the kids have had a wonderful time at the water slides, playgrounds and at Aunt Alice's house. Scott had to leave back on Sunday afternoon and he made it safely home. Michael and his family left out this morning and are headed to Kansas. We will return back to the land of Sunshine and No smoking in the afternoon!!!

Highlight of the trip include.......

"I have a little wedgie in this car seat" quote by Savannah on the 4 hour trip back from Rapid City.

"Remember when they lost Papa's Ninja suit" quoted by Kyle at the Empire Mall. Sadly, this mall did not have a ninja store so we were not able to replace Papa's ninja suit yet!

"There is a monitor behind me" quote by Minnesota information lady that made me, Scott and Kyle laugh...we used it numerous times on this trip!

We went to Tailgaters for lunch at our arrival in Brandon and the waitress told us there was a new bar in town called 212 boiling point. So Scott asked Kyle if he knew what it meant and my mom piped up and said " It must have opened on February 12th!" Needless to say that was not the correct answer and we now use February 12th as the date for everything!

"How much was Uncle Clark's ticket at Mt. Rushmore?" " and don't tell my dad I asked you!" quoted by Rebecca.....My answer "$682.00" Yes, we were pulled over for going 42 in a 25 zone!!!! And thousands of tourists laughed as they drove by us on their way to the monument...including Michael who was wearing his Chevy's free birthday sombrero!...Clark would not ask the cop if I could take his picture for the blog!

Okay, I am off to pack so look for lots of fun and tons and tons of pictures before too long!

Off to the land of Buffalo!

Good butt crack of dawn!!!

Yes, it is early and we are getting ready to go off to the Land of Buffalo, Mt. Rushmore, Corn Palaces, Wall Drug and other Roadside Attractions......tomorrow we will stop and visit with our old friends the Flintstones!

Ya Ba Dab A Doooooo!!!

See ya when we get back!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day!!! We are off to see Kung Fu Panda and then out to lunch at Chili's......doing this backwards so I already know what we did. Everyone liked the movie and we saw a lot of other families celebrating Father's Day this way.

The kids signed cards and Miss S loves to write a ton in hers.....Lots of love to all the Fathers, Daddies, and Papa's!

Papa turns 60!!!!

Happy 60th Birthday PAPA!!!! Wow, my dad turned 60 on Friday and once again shared his birthday with one of the kids graduating....this time it was Kyle from 6th grade but I think all of us have graduated on his birthday at some point. Now the grankids are coming along for the tradition.



Time for yummy cake!

















Kyle and Savannah want to help blow out the candles! Kyle actually picked the cake....white with strawberry mousse filling. Papa's favorite cake is German Chocolate or Black Forest he said. He has to watch his intake of sugar so he enjoyed a very small piece of cake.

Nothing like blue lips from frosting!!!! Savannah was happy to share the cake and can't wait for the next cale which will be Great-Grandma's 90th birthday cake on the 4th of July!

Kyle graduates 6th Grade!!!!!

Our boy made it to graduation!!! It has been a pretty rough last half of 6th grade. School has never been easy for Kyle but he has always loved to go....this year we had some giving up for the first time. We worked through it but it has not been easy.




We can thank Mr. Fujimoto for keeping Kyle on track at school while we tried at home. Mr. Fuji is going to junior high too so let's keep our fingers crossed that Kyle will get him as a teacher....one less for us to figure out!





Grandma and Papa came to help us celebrate. They are proud of Kyle too and know how hard he worked to get to this point! We love you Kyle!!!!!!!

Papa's Friend Drives a......

HONKER????

We were leaving Grandma and Papa's house and when we went out, my dad's friend's car was at the bottom of the driveway. Right away Savannah said "Papa's friend drives a Honker?" we laughed and told her no it was a Hummer!

Coconut Update for Week 1

Here is Coconut after a week at our house....He looks okay and seems to be making himself at home. He goes to Grandma and Papa's house with Savannah in the morning and seems to be making himself at home there too. Doesn't he look tough! NOT!! He will lick you to death maybe......He is a little maltese and will not grow to more then 6 pounds probably. It is hard to imagine how small he is at this point.




One of his favorite things to do is to play and Kyle was providing a place for him to be attacked by Coconut.





Stretching and relaxing is Coconut's favorite thing to do! Savannah has about 100 names for him like....little guy, lickery, puppy, baby, and more!

Brides and Flowergirls and a quick shower!

This is Savannah with Alison...our bride to be! Savannah is going to be a flowergirl in Alison's wedding. Clark is out of town for the Truck Driving Championships and when we were talking about the plans I had for the weekend I said Savannah and I were going to the shower in Livermore on Saturday. Savannah immediately asked me, "We're going to watch Alison take a shower? I don't want to get wet! " Clark and I were laughing pretty hard but I said no it is not that kind of a shower but a bridal shower and we would bring Alison a present and it was like a party for Alison. Savannah wanted to know if they were having cake and I said yes, so she was all for going then!!!!

Alison was talking to Savannah and asked her if she was practicing with the basket of petals. Savannah said yes. Alison said it would be so fun for her to wear a pretty dress and throw flowers. I laughed and told Alison that was kinda describing her day too.....wearing a pretty dress and throwing her flowers!

It was a beautiful shower and her bridesmaids did a great brunch and games for the guests. We left with a bridal gown cookie that was a BIG hit with our little flowergirl. Savannah was excited to see Alison and also LB who is going to be the ringbearer. I'll be sure to post how she does after the wedding!!

Multicultural Night at Cedar Grove

It was Muticultural Night at Cedar Grove and Kyle was going to perform with his Taiko school group for the last time.....kinda sad that these kids are moving on to junior high but I also think they are ready for the next adventure!



Kyle is going to perform on Sunday with his other group and he will continue to practice and learn with this group. It is a great way for him to continue to play the music and make new friends too. It is nice the practice is on the weekend so it does not get in the way of homework and school activities.

Our house has grown by 4 little feet!

Introducing our newest family member.....COCONUT!!! He was born on March 17th and joined our house on May 31st!
Kyle was very happy to have a dog again and Savannah has pretty much gotten over her insane fear of dogs. Her requirement was small,fluffy, and white.....guess what, Coconut fit the bill.
Yep, he is going to be a purse dog whether he wants to or not! Savannah will make sure to put him in her purse and carry him around.
Chilling out and relaxing on the couch is one of his favorite places to be. Mellow and sleepy is how he is most of the time.
Our little guy will grow to about 5 pounds. I'm sure he will have some adventures of his own and get his own blog posts occasionally. So far no peeing in the house is great and toilet training two toddlers was never the plan....Coconut might be trained before Savannah!!!

Flowergirl Training

We needed to practice putting petals on the ground for the wedding. She had picked out this tiara at Michael's and I was not using my coupon for anything else so now she has a beautiful tiara to practice with.....
She thought she had to put each one out .......one by one. I'm not sure what sort of pattern she was going to make.
Getting better after her brother showed her how....I was told if I posted those pictures I would be in BIG trouble....don't worry I have them for when he starts dating!
Very happy to be done and to do it all over again.
Giving me a lecture about how to do the petals, also notice she needed a glass of juice from all the work she did! Wheeew it is hard work to be a flowergirl!